Doug's Companion
by AristotleII
Summary: Chell has been the sole test subject of the Child Development test, which is an experiment to see how much children can learn from observation, for eight years. However, she has very little human contact, and, out of curiosity, someone decides to give her a companion...
1. The Eye

Author's Notes: Hi! I just want to say, really quickly, that this is the first fan fiction I have ever written, so I don't know how it's going to turn out. Since it is a prequel, so it might take a little while for things to speed up. I would appreciate it if you would comment, but, of course, you don't have to. Thank you! (Also, although I included Doug in the story, I've only played Portal One and Two, I'm not quite sure where they introduce him, so my characterization may be off. Hopefully, it won't be too much of a problem.)

Disclaimer: I don't own Portal.

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Prologue: The Baby Girl

A young woman ran up to the unassuming, abandoned looking house's door, clutching a light blue blanket. She set down the bundle in front of the door. A baby, certainly no older then a year old, looked up at her. It didn't make a sound. The woman set an unopened letter on top of the baby.

"I'm sorry, but, considering what you are, I don't think you should stay with me. The people here might be able to help you, considering they're the reason you exist anyway." The woman looked as though the child on the door step made no difference to her. She knocked on the door, and walked away without another word, leaving her daughter to the unknown.

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Chapter One: The Eye

"Wake up! Wake Up!" The voice buzzed. I sighed, and slowly hopped out of bed. "If you do your chores quickly, you can go the glass room today." My bleary, tired face broke into a smile, now that I had an incentive, and I rapidly made my bed, changed into my gray tank top, over which I zipped my orange jumpsuit, threw my P.J.s into the Aperture Science Laundry Cleaner, and quickly ate my breakfast after it popped out of the panel in the wall, where it always did. My living area is completely gray, complete with a gray bed, a gray table, a gray chair for my table, my bathroom which is inside a second room of it's own, and a chute where I threw my already worn clothes every morning and night. They appeared back in the little panel in the wall where I stored my clothes. I only have to touch the panels to open them. One of the walls in my room slides away to make a passageway into the glass room, a room where I can watch the humans. They wear long white coats, and usually are either chatting, or typing away at the giant computer, which shows pictures and symbols. I don't really know what the symbols mean, and the pictures are rather strange, often of robots, or boxes some of the humans call "weighted cubes", and ones with hearts that they call "casket cubes". I don't know what a casket is. Finally, after I eat the last of my food, drink the last of my water and put my empty glass into the panel, it slides away, as does the left wall of my living space. The glass room doesn't actually have anything in it, but just lets me watch the humans.

Happily I sat down on the floor and watched them. _I wonder what they do when they're not in that room._ One of them pointed at me, and waved his hand back and forth. Humans did that sometimes. Smiling, I waved back.

"Leave the poor girl alone." Another human said. Laughing happily, the other human went back to typing on the keyboard.

"So, she's more of a psychological test, right?" Asked a different human, looking at me.

"Yeah, we wanted to see what would happen if someone was raised by a computer." She looked at me. Her bright white skin, blonde hair, and gray eyes went nicely with her white coat. "Although, technically, no one's really raising her or teaching her anything. She's never had any direct interaction with any robot or anything. I think they're going to send in someone to see how she responds."

"You don't think she's violent, right?"

"No, she seems like a sweet person. She's really curious, see? She loves observing us, kind of like we're monitoring her."

I smiled. _Monitoring me? How are you monitoring me? Do you mean here? There isn't any glass in my room._ Two of the screens was showing videos of different rooms. There were other humans in those rooms, all of the ones on the right screen were wearing the same jumpsuit I was. On the left screen, it showed more people with white coats mixing things together, or fixing robots. However, some of the videos were of rooms without humans, where machines were building robots. One of the rooms on the screen on the right looked familiar.

A thought occurred to me, and I jumped up and ran to my living quarters. Up in the corner, there was something sticking out of the wall. I had noticed it before, but I had ignored it. It looked like a red, robotic eye on a stick. I moved to the side, it followed. I stepped forward, it followed me. I smiled and waved. Then I jogged back to the glass room.


	2. Doug

Disclaimer: I don't own Portal or Portal Two

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Chapter Two: Doug

The twenty two year old, brunette programmer, Doug, finished typing away at the keyboard. He had been designing a new type of nanobot to be used in construction. Of course, his specialty was programming personalities for personality constructs, but, of course, there was other work to be done. He sat back in his chair and admired his handiwork.

"Now, all I have to do is deliver these files for approval." He murmured, and quickly backed up the files onto a thumb drive, then sent the original files to his supervisor.

"Hey, Doug, do you have a moment?" Asked Sheryl, one of the scientists. Scientists were a little higher up in the pecking order then the programmers at Aperture, and tended to be too dedicated to their work to really bother with the other, non-scientist, employees. Unless they needed you for a test.

"Yeah, what do you need?" Doug asked, standing up and pushing his chair in. He had slicked back, dark brown hair, his skin was a slightly tan/peachy mixture. Doug forced down the unease rising in his stomach.

"You know what the C.D. Test is, right?"

Any pretense of surprised friendliness he had managed to force onto his face quickly evaporated. "Yes, and I'm not completely sure I agree with it."

"We know, you've mentioned it so many, many times." Sheryl sighed, looking at him. "However, we've listened, and we decided you were right. It's a little cruel to force a little girl to grow up without any social interaction at all."

"You're going to end the test?" Doug asked, surprised.

"No, we're going to give her a companion."

Comprehension spread over Doug's face, and he paled. "You _CAN'T_ give her one of those... things!"

Sheryl rolled her eyes. "We're not giving her a Weighted Companion Cube, no. And, it's a good, efficient system, we're not getting rid of it. But, no, we want to see how she reacts to having a human companion. Only for two hours a day. I thought you might be the right person."

He blinked. "Really?"

"Mm-hmm." Sheryl answered. "If you don't want to, I can find someone else... maybe."

"No, uh, I'll do it." Doug smiled, a little wary.

"Three rules: you have to stay in the glass room, it makes it a little easier to monitor the results, as someone will be observing how she reacts to having interaction with a human, and, second, you will only be there for two hours, and third, you can't tell her we're testing her."

Doug nodded comprehensively. "Alright. I've got it."

"Part two of the experiment starts tomorrow, so be here."

"Got it." Doug repeated, nodding again. Sheryl walked away. He pulled out his seat again and went back to work.


	3. A Companion

Disclaimer: (Yes, I know, these things are annoying. :P) I don't own Portal.

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Chapter Three: A Companion

"Wake up! Wake up!" The voice buzzed again, as usual. Yawning, I tried to ignore the voice for a second so I could continue to sleep. "You need to do your chores quickly. A surprise is being delivered soon." My eyes popped open. _A surprise? Have I ever gotten a surprise?_ I closed my eyes and quickly tried to remember. _No, I guess this is the first one._ I smiled. _A surprise! I hope it's a good surprise._ I frowned for a second, puzzled. _What's a surprise?_ Shrugging, I went to go eat my food. _I guess I'll find out._ I ate and drank quickly, had a shower, changed, ran to the glass room, and waited. Some of the humans were talking about me. I ignored them. _I wonder what a surprise looks like._ One of the humans was carrying one of the weighted gray cubes. _Is that my surprise?_ She walked by. _I guess not._ Patiently, I waited, sitting on the ground, hands folded in my lap, watching everything and everyone go by. Eventually, the humans started shuffling, and pointing at two of them. They were a female and a male; the female had extremely dark skin, dark brown eyes, and black hair. She looked like the was the dominant of the two. He was the subordinate. I had never seen him before. He wasn't as tall as some of the humans, but he was still taller then me, like all humans were. His skin was a light color, and he had hair on his face around his mouth and on his chin, like some male humans had, along with the hair on his head. They were both the same color. He had green-brown eyes,and he seemed to be much more unkempt then most of the other humans. He was probably under stress, didn't get a lot of sleep. I smiled, proud of myself for being able to tell that. They walked to the side of the glass room, talking, like the other humans were. I decided what they were talking about wasn't important. The female human touched something next to the side of the glass room. A panel of the glass door slid away. My mouth fell open.

 _This must be my surprise!_ The male human walked inside, the panel shut behind him.

"Uh, hello." He said, smiling awkwardly. I waved, smiling, and jumped, happily. He held out his hand. "My name is Doug."

 _How can I talk to him?_ I wondered. I'd never thought about it before, but I wanted to make sounds like humans could, to speak. I tried, but no sound came out. His hand was still held out awkwardly. _Why are you holding out your hand?_ I remembered, suddenly, that humans slapped their hands against other humans hands. I slapped his hand gently, smiling at him. He blinked, confused. _I need to find a way to talk._ An idea struck me. _Or, I need a way to tell him I_ _ **can't**_ _talk!_ Proud that I had figured out what to do, I jumped.

"Um..." He looked at me, confused. I smiled apologetically, then tapped my lips and shook my head 'no', they way I had seen humans do it. "Okay, what do you mean?" I smiled at him, waiting for him to get it. "Are you trying to tell me something?" I nodded, smiling encouragingly.

 _Come on, you can figure it out!_

 _"_ You're trying to tell me that you're hungry." He said, smiling like he'd figured it out.

Rolling my eyes, I shook my head no. _At least I can say 'yes' and 'no'. That's a start._

He snapped his fingers. "You're trying to tell me you can't talk."

I jumped up and down, smiling and nodding. _Yes! He got it!_ Doug smiled.

"Nice to meet you. Like I said, I'm Doug. Doug Rattman." He held out his hand again. I slapped it again. He pulled his hand back and chuckled. "Okay, so introductions aren't your thing."

 _Why did he say he was Doug? What's Doug? And why Doug Rattman? Are males called Dougs?_ I put my hand on my chin, thinking.

"Here, I brought you something." He put his hand in his coat and pulled out something. It was flat. It was white. And it was flimsy. I took it from him, curious. Studying it, I turned it over. It had been folded, and I quickly unfolded it, leaving me with a white, flat sheet of... _something._ I looked up at him. "Oh, right. I forgot." He pulled out another thing from his coat. It was small, and black, and hard. It left a black mark on my hand when I held it.

"It's a pen." The Doug said. "You know, you write with it?" I'd heard that word before. Write. Holding the pen, I dragged the side that had made the mark along my arm. It made a long black streak. He chuckled. "Do you know what to do with it?" I looked at both the pen and the white thing. Something clicked. I dragged the mark down the paper. It made a mark, like before. I smiled up at him. "Yup. It's used to draw, too."

 _Draw. I've never heard that before._ I looked down at the paper. _Why would you need this? For fun?_ An idea struck me _._ _I can 'draw' pictures to talk!_ I sat down on the floor to draw when I realized something. Those weird symbols. What if they were used to convey information? If I knew those symbols, I could talk using a pen! Quickly, I drew a few of the symbols that I could remember.

"What are you drawing?" Asked Doug. I showed him. He picked up my drawing, staring quizzically at the paper. He glanced both at me and the paper. "Do you know what these mean?" The Doug asked, pointing at the white, flat, sheet, surprise in his face. I shook my head no. "Would you like to know?" I nodded. He smiled kindly. "Alright, I'll teach you."


	4. Testing

Author's Notes: Sorry this Chapter was so short, guys! I wrote it a little while ago, and forgot to upload it, so here it is. Anyway, again, I don't own Portal. Reviews are appreciated. :P

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Chapter Four: Testing

Doug was working on designing a personality for a new type of large turret, when he was interrupted.

"Well, Doug, how's the C.D. test doing?" The honey-haired, gray-eyed Annie asked, standing beside Doug's desk. He smiled a little bit, hearing her bell-like voice.

Doug spun around in his chair. "Really well, actually." He replied, beaming at Annie. "She's a sweet little girl."

"I heard you were teaching her how to read and write? Won't that affect the test?"

"No, actually. Sheryl said it was okay, as long as I didn't tell her anything about human culture. She can only learn about that by observing. They want to see how much children learn from observation and interpretation."

"Cool." Annie turned around, and looked as though she were going to leave Doug's cubicle, when she added, over her shoulder, "Doug, Bob wants you to take a look at GlaDos later. He thinks she might be malfunctioning." Doug's eyes widened in surprise. GlaDos had the most advanced AI at Aperture, possibly the most advanced AI in the world. Even he didn't know who originally made her. The fact that she might be malfunctioning was strange, she had a built in check for errors, and could even repair herself.

"What's wrong?"

"She's building test chambers without a command. Or, at least, no one will say who gave the command, and GlaDos can't, for some reason, pull up her command history. It has to be done manually."

"Hmm." Doug said thoughtfully. "Alright. I'll take a look later." He paused for a second, then asked, "So, are you free Friday?"

She smiled. "Not anymore, if you're asking me out." Annie waved as she left. "See you later, Doug." He watched her go, then, smiling, swiveled around in his chair, and got back to work.


	5. My Name

Disclaimer: I do not own Portal or any of its characters.

Author's Notes: Yeah, I know, her learning how to write in a short amount of time is pretty far fetched, but... well, I couldn't exactly have them talk the way Garfield and John do. I don't own Garfield either, by the way.

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Chapter Five: My Name

It had been a few weeks since I had gotten my surprise. The Doug came every day, and, now, I had a gray desk in the glass room, and two chairs. One for Doug, the other for me. The desk always had the white sheets, called paper, on it, as well as pencils. I needed to be able to erase my mistakes. I thought it was cool how an eraser could wipe out the dust from the paper. He had continued to teach me how to write and read. I'd learned how to sound out words (though the fact that I couldn't speak prevented me from actually doing it), so I was confident I could write any word I heard, and spell it correctly.

 **Why do you call yourself Doug?** I asked, writing it down on paper.

He laughed. "That's my name. My first name is Doug, my last name is Rattman."

 **Why do you have two names?**

"So that people can tell me apart from the other Dougs. I'm not the only person named Doug."

I tried to think of a good question, hand on my chin. Finally I thought of one, and wrote it down, smiling. What's my name?

"You don't know your own name?" I shook my head no.

 **No one's used it.**

His smile became a little sad after reading my question. I wondered why. "Your name is Chell."

 _Chell. Chell. My name is Chell._ I smiled. **I like my name. It's pretty.**

"I'm glad you like your name, Chell."

 **Why do people have names?**

"Well, what do you think?" Doug asked, smiling, his stance relaxed. I had gotten pretty good at understanding how a human felt based on they way they were acting, and even from the way they were sitting or standing. He had one leg rested on top of the other, and he was propping up his elbow on the table, his hand on his jaw. I always felt happier when I knew Doug was happy.

I mimicked him, my leg sprawled lazily atop the other, but I was leaning forward, staring at the paper, though I wasn't actually looking at it. I was too busy musing. _Why do I call him Doug?_ I turned the thought over in my head. _What if there was more of him? That's how it is for humans, there's more then one..._ My eyes closed, lips pressed together in consideration, I wondered. My eyes popped open, a triumphant smile spreading on my face. Doug's smile spread.

"What's your answer?"

 **Is it so that they have a label for each other, so that it's easier to think and talk about them?**

Doug's face took on a proud glow. "Yes. In fact, I'm not sure I could have explained it better myself." Pride burst through my chest, and I grinned, feeling like beams of pride were coming out of my smile. I slid out of my chair, and jumped, excited, before I sat back down. Doug chuckled. Once again, the realization struck me how much taller he was then me. There had been a question playing back in my mind recently, but I was slightly afraid to ask it. Why, I wasn't sure. Still, the glow of pride from earlier gave me a small boost of confidence. I took a deep breath, and, slowly, hesitantly, wrote my question.

 **I'm too small to be a human. My feet are different from a human's feet. So what am I?** I tentativelyslid the paper back over to Doug. He read it, for a second, then started chuckling softy. His laugh grew, and he clutched his stomach as he laughed. I was confused. Did I miss something? I glanced at the paper then back at Doug, quizzically turning my head to the side. I would have laughed, but I didn't know what was funny. It took a moment, but he slowly got his laughter under control. On the outside, anyway. He was still laughing on the inside.

"Chell, you're a kid. That's why you're smaller then me, I'm an adult."

Adult? Child? I wrote uncomprehendingly.

His expression softened into one of compassion. Though, of course, compassion never left his eyes, Doug's face could morph into other emotions as well. "Children are young humans, Chell. You grow over time, until you reach adulthood. Everyone here is already an adult, so I can see how you might be confused."

I was stunned. I had no idea what this meant. "Grow over time"? Grow in size? Grow in... what? Were my feet going to change color?

 **What do you mean? How long have I been growing?**

I could see that my answer amused him. "Well, since before you were born, actually. You're entire life, you've been getting bigger and changing. Since you're a girl, you're going to be a woman as an adult. You're going to probably be five feet and ten inches." I glanced at one of the women, the human females. She had turned to look at us. She had long hair, it reached her waist. The woman looked different from Doug. _I'm going to look like that?_ I tried to imagine how I would look, my hair her length, my height as tall as hers. It was strange. I turned to Doug. The look on my face must have been pretty funny, because he burst into laughter. This time, I couldn't help it. I joined in. Our laughter, his deep and loud, mine little and bird like, rang in my ears. I loved the time I spent with Doug, my friend, my companion. A tiny part of me, however, a part of my mind I have always had, waited warily, ever vigilant for things to get worse.


	6. Code

Disclaimer: I don't own Portal.

Author's Notes: Yup. It's another short chapter, guys. XD Sorry. I'm probably going to be uploading these around the same time, so, at the least, there's more then one.

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Chapter Six: Code

Doug scrolled through the code once more, getting more frustrated by the second. "I just don't get this. It's like these commands came from no where." He muttered to himself, searching each line of code for any sort of hint as to where the ghost commands had come from. "Maybe I'm looking in all the wrong places." Doug clicked off of the command history, and started searching through her self-analysis tests, which occurred every few minutes. "Hmm, nothing, nothing, nothing." He ran his hand over his slicked-back hair. "Nothing. Dang." He glanced over at the apple he had on his desk. It was a surprise for Chell, as was a picture of the wheat field that he'd seen on his first day here, when he took the wrong exit by mistake.

Suddenly, he heard a cough. "Doug." He turned his gaze over his shoulder, to see Sheryl, who jabbed her head meaningfully at the clock. Doug burst into a grin when he realized it was two. Back to the C.D. test. He jumped up, without giving another thought to the monitor. If he had, he might have noticed the incriminating line of code in the self-analysis.


	7. An Apple

Disclaimer: I don't own Portal.

Author's Notes: I've finally written a longer chapter again, now that I've gotten past my bout of laziness. (Ha ha, just kidding. I'm always lazy. :P) Hope it's not too cheesy or anything.

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Chapter Seven: A Word

I was sitting patiently at the table, doodling, when Doug came in. I looked up, smiling, and waved, before going back to my work.

"What are you drawing?" He asked, sitting in his usual chair. I shifted papers, and quickly scribbled down a message.

 **It's a surprise!**

I quickly got back to my work, glancing at him time to time. It took me a second before I realized he was holding two objects, which he was trying to hide from me. That, of course, instantly made me curious, but, since I wasn't going to show him my drawing until it was done, I decided that it was fair to leave him alone about the objects. For a short amount of time, it was silent, aside from our breathing, the muted chattering of humans, or, other humans, and my pencil scraping across the paper. Finally, I was finished. I glanced at it, rather unhappy with my work. Sighing, I decided drawing probably wasn't my specialty.

"Did you finish?" He asked. I nodded glumly. He looked at me with a half smile. "I can tell that your completely thrilled with it." I looked at him, confused. Doug shook his head. "Sarcasm." I was still confused. "It's when you say something that you don't actually mean." I scribbled down a question.

I **sn't that lying?**

He paused, thoughtfully, then said, "No, not really, lying and sarcasm aren't the same things. When you lie, you want people to think you actually mean what you're saying. With sarcasm, you're saying the exact opposite of what you think, but you want people to know that." We were both silent for a moment. It wasn't a bad silence, of course, it never was with us. "Do you mind if I take a look?" He asked, finally, reaching out for the paper. With a resigned sigh, I handed it over. Doug gasped. "Chell, this is great. I don't think I've ever met anyone else your age who could draw like this." The picture was a drawing of him.

 **But it doesn't look like you.** I pointed out, surprised that he liked it.

"No, not completely, but it does look enough like me that I can tell who it is." He smiled.

 **So you like it?** I asked, hopeful.

"Of course I like it Chell," He said, and ruffled my hair, making a few strands stick up wildly. "you drew it." I smiled.

 **What's personality programming?** I asked, deciding to put off the surprises for a bit, so he wouldn't know how curious the two tiny objects made me. Plus, I could get my question answered. He hadn't been able to answer it the first time I asked; he had had to leave.

He ran his hand over his hair. I noticed he did that a lot. "Well, it's where you create the AI for a robot, to help it function."

 **So, you give them personalities? Like a human?**

"Well, most of the personalities aren't as in-depth as a human's would be. Those personalities take years to make, and, even then, still aren't quite as varied as a human's."

 **But they're still alive, right?**

He hesitated, and looked a little uncomfortable. I partially regretted asking the question. "Well, yes, I guess, in a way. They can feel pain, and some of them can form their own thoughts, but they can't form their own beliefs, or go against their programming. So, they're more like animals, in that sense. Partially sentient, but uncreative for the most part, and unable to go against their main purpose. For animals, it's living. An animal most likely isn't going to sacrifice itself for another, unless it's in its instincts to do so. Neither is a robot. But, a human can." He paused for a while then smiled and asked, "If you wanted me to program a personality, maybe just for another friend for you, what would you want them to be like?"

 _Why would I need another friend?_ I wondered. _I have you._ All the same, I obediently pondered his question, and smiled.

 **If you were to make another friend for me, I'd want it to be someone who's a little naive, who's really loyal, and trusting.** I pondered for a minute, remembering that Doug had once said all humans have some bad qualities as well as good. T **hey should also be slightly insensitive, but sweet, never wanting to hurt anybody on purpose, and extremely creative, even if their creativity isn't understood.** I'd always wanted to be creative, but I could never really manage it. I was just too logical, like a robot. **Maybe they would be a little bit of a coward, but I think they would be incredibly optimistic.** I smiled, reading my list, and I handed it to Doug, who after reading it, put it away in his shirt pocket, saying, "If you don't mind, I need to keep this. You know, as a check list." He winked at me. I grinned back. Hoping I had been able to stave off my curiosity long enough he wouldn't know how much it had burned my thoughts about the objects, I asked,

 **What's in your hands?**

He smiled and handed the two objects to me. On was kind of spherical, and red. It was cold when I turned it over in my hands. The other one looked like paper that had already been drawn on, except it was too small to be paper, and more... smooth. Shiny. More real. I stared at them both in wonder.

"This," Doug picked up the red thing, "is an apple. It's a fruit. We actually grew this one here, under ground." He smiled, looking a little impressed at this small... what did he call it? Fruit? "You can eat it, by the way." I looked at the apple suspiciously. He laughed. "Don't worry, it's not like it's filled with poison." Cautiously, I reached my hand out and took the apple. I studied it before, hesitantly, putting it up to, and crunching it in my mouth. My eyes popped open in surprise, and Doug grinned with amusement. The apple's sweet taste was nothing like my Aperture Science Nourishment Cubes; this fruit, this apple, actually had _flavor._ It was the best thing I had ever eaten. I decided it was probably impossible to find something better tasting then this. It took me only a few minutes to eat almost the entire thing, and then Doug had to stop me from eating the core, laughing as he did so.

Eventually, my attention returned to the other surprise he had brought. I pointed to the paper thing in curiosity. He laughed. "This is what the outside looks like. Well, what some of it looks like actually. This is a picture of a wheat field." I looked at it, and waves of wonderment washed over me, and I sighed in amazement. The picture was so beyond belief, in its beauty. The sky -I think that's what it's called, _sky-_ was a gorgeous blue color. My favorite color. There was a tree in the background, frozen swaying in the breeze, it's gigantic branches, covered in leaves, reaching toward the sky, toward the glowing, beautiful, setting sun, which blessed the ground with it's golden rays. But the most beautiful thing of all in the picture was the wheat. It was golden, gently brushed by the breeze, the same heavenly gold color that the sun was. It was believable that the tiny, swaying plants could be descended from the sun itself, rays that got trapped on earth. I decided if there was anything more beautiful in this world then wheat, I didn't know what it was. An idea popped in my mind. I knew that people, at some point in time, had created words. Certainly, they wouldn't hate me for making one word, one word that was both synonymous to and described this beauty. I thought of it, the word brought a smile to my face. I knew it was perfect. My word for beauty. I laughed for the pure joy of finding my word. Doug smiled at my happiness.

 **That place,** I wrote down, remembering something Doug had explained to me a few days ago, after my query about something I had heard a human say, **is it heaven?**

He shook his head no, smiling. "Heaven is much more beautiful then that, Chell." Doug's smile reminded me of the sun and its warm rays. I decided that my word could encompass his smile, which I felt was made of pure happiness. _I wonder how on earth that heaven can be better then this?_


	8. A Dream

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Portal.

Author's Notes: Yeah, guys... it's another short chapter... Heh, sorry...

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Chapter Eight: A Dream

 _-Don't let-_

 _-grabmegrabmegrabme-_

 _-I never meant-_

 _-I'm alone, so alone-_

 _-Sorry, so sorry-_

I woke up, panting with fear. It took me a minute to realize I was still in bed, in my quarters. Sadness and grief shot through me, and I gave a little sob. _Why does a dream make me so sad?_ I wondered, trying to distract my self. It didn't work. The sobs kept coming, getting much more frequent, hysteric. Luckily, before I had Doug, I had cried a few times. It was usually after I noticed humans being friendly with each other, slapping their hands together, just having fun with each other. An ache would take hold and, if I allowed my thoughts to dwell on my loneliness too much, I would start to cry silently. The best thing to do was work through them. _But,_ I realized, in between heaves, _I've never cried like THIS. My crying has always been still, but, now, I'm rocking back and forth with mute cries._ It was true. I was hugging my knees, wondering why a dream, with no understandable meaning to it, would hurt me to my core like this. I felt as though something important had been torn from me, fate ripping something precious from my hands... and as though it wasn't the first time this had happened.

 _How can a dream hurt this much?_ I wondered, hugging my knees, feeling slightly embarrassed that it had so much power over me.

 _This wasn't like a dream._ An urgent, small, voice in my head warned. _Dreams you can usually see, and they usually have some sort of point, even if it makes no sense. Dreams can't have this big of an effect on your emotions. This wasn't a dream._

 _Well, what was it, then?_ I asked, forcing the thought to sound irritated, to try and cover the dread that was coming over me.

 _A vision._ The tiny voice in my head warned. _This place isn't heaven, Chell. You know what you've seen on those screens._

I hung my head in shame.

 _You knew what it was, you know what's going on, and you're choosing to deny it._ It said, reproachfully. _You have got to always be on your guard. You can't just "deny" what's going on because it hurts, or you think it would be better to ignore it, because that's the same as giving up. You can't ever give up, because that will kill you. And you know it. You can't ever give up._

 _I won't._ I sighed, wiping my tears away. The sobs had finished ripping through me.

 _This place isn't heaven,_ the voice warned again, _it's hades._

* * *

Author's Notes: I was originally going to use a different word instead of Hades (which, I am fully aware, is also the name of the ruler of the underworld, but I think it can also be used to describe the underworld), and I realize it doesn't fit in well, but, well... I dunno. Just tell me if I should change it, I suppose _._


	9. Realization

Disclaimer: I don't own Portal, sadly.

Author's Notes: We're almost to chapter ten, guys! Thank you so much for reading this, I know it probably hasn't exactly been the most interesting thing to read, and I know I'm not great writer, but thank you for hanging on. Hopefully things will start to get more exciting... starting now.

* * *

Chapter Nine: Realization

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The humans are holding me back.

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* * *

"You know, I have got _sooo_ much work to do it's _ridiculous!_ "

Doug tried not to let his annoyance show on his face as he tried, futilely, to concentrate on his work instead of John's idle chatter. _Kind of funny, then, that you're standing here, talking my ears off, instead of doing your work._ Doug's workload had been doubled, too, of course, as had every personality programmer at Aperture. It had happened the day before Annie had asked him to take a look at GlaDos, in fact. He supposed it would take a while for Bill to shut up, so, sighing, decided to absentmindedly glance through GlaDos's codes again. Since he wasn't going to be able to concentrate for a while, why not look through her codes? I means, it wasn't as if he was going to find-

He paled. _That's... not possible._ Doug thought. But sure enough, there it was. That, impossible little line of self-analysis. _But... but that goes against her programming..._ Doug was stunned. Slowly, waves of fear starting lapping against him as he realized what it meant- he had to get to someone, anyone right away. John had seemed to pick up on his change of mood.

"Hey, what happened? Did you see a ghost?" He asked, though his chuckle sounded a little forced. Doug suspected he had been a little rattled by the sudden change in mood. He pushed his chair in, and walked out of his cubicle. "Doug? Where are you going?" Doug started running.

* * *

"Doug, do you really think this?" Asked Martin Dark, his hands folded on his desk, his face troubled. Doug nodded, breathless. "That is a very serious problem, you realize. What would you suggest?"

"Well," Doug gulped air in like he had just run a thousand mile marathon instead of simply to Dark's office, "I think we should try to unhook from the mainframe."

Dark immediately shook his head. "No, chances are, the facility would end up exploding. We still need her to run the building, the mainframe controls the entire facility. Do you have any other ideas?" Doug shook his head no, still panting. "It doesn't matter, considering I just thought of one."

* * *

Later, Doug had been excused from most of his other assignments, though they still wanted him to come through her code, to find out if she had been clued on to what was happening. Other then that, he had only one job: A few of the personality programmers were programming basic cores, except they were made with a specific purpose, to be annoying, and make it harder to function. For the most part, the cores were largely up to the choice of the programmers. Not Doug's, however, since the scientists were researching just what constituted stupidity, and were working together to make the world's biggest idiot ever. Kind of ironic, considering these scientists were probably some of the greatest minds of a generation. No, Doug's job was, when they finished creating the world's biggest idiot, it was his job to program it. He had seen some of the cores. They were metal, basketball sized spheres, whose optic took up their entire body. Essentially, they were eyes with personalities. Doug was still allowed to visit Chell, of course, Dark (and everyone who was in the know, for that matter) didn't want GlaDos to figure out what was going on. So, of course, Dark had to figure out a lie to tell GlaDos that wouldn't alarm her to the fact that this new project just popped out of no where. To make it feel more natural, Dark told everyone to just try to do this in normal time, just act natural. So Doug still visited Chell. She could tell, of course, that he wasn't as at ease as he usually was. Despite the fact that he tried his hardest, he could tell he still, somehow, wasn't fooling her. Confusing, considering he'd been able to trick everyone else with his acting, from his mother to Mr. Dark, who commented on how convincing he was. How he made everything seem almost normal. Doug had a feeling nothing was going to be normal again.


	10. Dream

Disclaimer: I still don't own Portal...

Author's Notes: This is a little bit of an explanatory chapter more then anything, just a warning. I knew I said I was going to attempt to make things a little more exciting, but, in the (not so direct) words of James Moriarty: "Well, to put it simply, I lied!" :P Sorry. Hopefully it's not too boring, as I do attempt to make these chapters interesting.

* * *

Chapter Ten: Dream

 _The gas filled the room, and everyone started choking, grasping at their necks, gasping for air. One little girl, unharmed, watched this in horror, trapped behind glass, a silent 'no' on her lips._ Doug woke up gasping, and felt a spasm of fear. _It was just a dream._ He thought, to himself. It didn't help. Electric shocks of fear ran through his body. Doug felt his cheek; he had fallen asleep at his desk. _Well, no wonder, I guess, since I was barely able to close my eyes last night._ He groaned, tiredly, then sat up straight. This wasn't the first time he'd had this dream, the weird thing was, it didn't fell like a dream, it felt more like a... _hallucination._ Doug's eyes went wide. He looked down at the trash, where he had thrown away the core from one of the apples that had been grown here. _I always have these dreams after I eat some of the Aperture-grown food._ Doug reached for the phone on his desk, and punched in a number. It rung twice, before it was answered, "Dr. Fael, Consumables Department."

"Hi, listen, Mike, I need to ask you a question. You genetically modify the plants, right? I need to know what goes in the apples."

"Apples?"

"Mm-hmm."

"Well, we put in some other D.N.A., to help it grow or to help the taste, like, for example, we add in _Lophophora williamsii_ to the plants to- wait, why do you need to know?"

"Listen, I think you need to ask around with people who've been eating this stuff. It's causing hallucinations." He said, and hung up, before Mike could respond. _Lophophora williamsii_ _._ He thought, doing an internet search. The first thing that came up was a Wikipedia article for "Peyote". He clicked on it, and groaned inwardly. It was used to calm people down, yes, but it also had large, natural amounts of mescaline in it... mescaline was a hallucinogenic drug. He had eaten so much of the stuff... Doug groaned and fell forward into another sleep.

 _I was being brought, slowly, into the fire. It blazed around me, its hungry tongues lapping toward me. I only knew one thing: I had to escape._ Doug sat straight up, panting, adrenaline shooting through his veins. _I don't get it,_ He thought, breathing heavily, hand across his forehead. _I'm almost always Chell in my hallucinations._ Doug shook his head. He had to get back to work, he was supposed to begin programming the first of the criteria for the Intelligence Damping Sphere that the scientists had given him. Slowly, shaken, he started coding.

* * *

Author's Notes: Yeah, I know drugs probably work nothing like that, but I know nothing about how mescaline works (if that is how it's spelled). I do realize it's probably smoked, but I was a little dubious about looking up hallucinatory drugs in front of my mom, so I looked up what people used to get visions of the future, and this came up. Anyway...


	11. More Visions

Disclaimer: I don't own Portal

* * *

Chapter Eleven: More Visions

 _I couldn't help it, I had to run to save myself. My only comfort was that GlaDos wouldn't kill Chell; she was a test subject. As for me, however... I needed to find someplace where I could survive the gas. And quickly._

I was sweating as I opened my eyes. It took me a few moments to remember I was inside my living quarters. Slowly, I breathed in and out, keeping the stabs of pain and fear down. I had had several other bouts of visions, since I usually had two four hour spans of sleep, and it had been five days since I had the first vision, so I now had enough practice to keep from crying when the visions were sad, and to keep calm when the visions sent shots of fear racing through my veins.

Sitting up, I yawned, stretching my arms out. I sat, idle for a second, before I finally got up, swinging my legs over the side of the bed. Quickly, I prepared for my day, then ran out to the glass room. I had a plan to cheer up Doug, he had seemed stressed recently. It worried me; he was usually so happy. I pulled out my chair, sat down, and started drawing. He had brought me two boxes which I could keep my papers in; one for fresh paper, and one for papers that had been written on.

Frustrated, I was erasing yet another mistake, rubbing a bit harder in the paper then I had to, when I saw _it_ walk past. I looked at it in surprise. Realizing I was staring at it, the robot turned toward me. It had a white human-shaped body, with chicken like legs and long, thin arms, while glowing, piercing purple lines ran up and around its body like wires. Its eyes were an odd shade of violet; it blinked when it turned it's gaze on me. After a moment of staring at each other, the robot took on a happy appearance, its bottom lid coming up to the bottom of its purple iris, and it waved at me, friendly. I grinned and waved back. _I don't think a non-sentient creature would do that._ I thought. One of the humans shooed it forward, but it's gaze followed me regretfully as it walked away. _Some robots,_ I thought, _are just as intelligent as humans. That's the first time any of the robots have actually taken notice of me. Maybe, if you're sentient, it doesn't matter what body you're in, it matters what your mind is like. That's what makes you a person._ With this thought, I returned to my work. It didn't take long after that to finish. I grinned at my picture. It was a drawing of me and Doug, on the day he showed me the picture. We were sitting on a bench, he was holding the picture, while I was eating an apple. _Hopefully this will cheer him up._ Soon enough, the door whooshed open again, and Doug stepped in, looking a little tired and stressed, as was quickly becoming the new usual. He brightened up when he saw me.

"Hi kid." Doug smiled, though there were circles under his eyes. He was carrying a box. I jumped up, holding the drawing, and ran over and gave him a hug, as usual. His arms wrapped around me protectively. "I brought you another surprise." I looked up at him, curiosity sparkling in my eyes, an excited smile on my face. Doug set the box on the table, and opened it. I stared at it in awe. There was a short, large cylinder, with candles on it. It was white, with the words, "Happy Tenth Birthday, Chell!" written on it in black. He grinned. "Do you like it? It's cake." I nodded, smiling. "You know, tomorrow is the anniversary of the first day I started visiting." He took a weird looking plastic knife, and, to my surprise, cut the cylinder into pieces. Doug handed me a slice. I took the plate, and stared at the cake quizzically. "You're supposed to eat it." _Oh._ Slowly, I brought a bit into my mouth and tasted it. It was sweet, and was one of the greatest things I had ever tasted. The cake's sugary flavor spread over my tongue. While I enjoyed it, it's sweetness felt fake when I compared it to an apple's.

"So, what's that?" Doug asked after we had polished off most of the cake. He looked a little better then he had when he had walked in, but he still looked tired enough to worry me. Sheepishly smiling, I handed it to him. He gazed at it, and smiled at me. Love glowed in his eyes, and he bent over and hugged me. _"Thank you."_ He whispered. I realized he was crying. Worried, I looked at his face. "What?" Doug asked, putting on a tired smile. I traced the trail the tears made. "Oh, it's nothing. Don't worry, Chell." I couldn't help but worry, but I decided to pretend that it didn't bother me too much, to make him happy. I didn't want him to know it was eating a hole inside my stomach.

Doug? I wrote, pulling out one of the many questions I had stored away. Are you my brother?

He chuckled. "Not genetically, but, yes, I do think of you as my little sister, Chell."

I grinned. I'm glad you're my brother.

"I'm glad you're my sister." He said. We hugged each other tightly, happy to be near one another. I would remember this day for a long time.

* * *

I shook my head gently, trying to dispel the torrent which had come over me, due to my latest dream. Wobbling, I slowly made my way into the glass room, where the panel had been left open from this morning; there was no need to unlock it again. Carefully, I settled into my chair. Not knowing what else to do, I began organizing my papers, and, after I had finished with that, placing both boxes gently under the desk again, I began drawing the little robot I had seen this morning. _How long has it been since this morning?_ I wondered idly.

"Oi!" A cheery voice said. "Hello!" I looked up as the young man turned to Doug. "She, she can hear me, right?" He had thick, stringy, light, sandy blond hair, which tumbled over his forehead clumsily and fell near his eyes. His skin was a light color, lighter then Doug's, his eyes were a startling, deep sky blue. For some reason, his voice was very different from the sort of voices I was used to, he pronounced everything differently. The young man smiled at me. "'Ello, just thought I'd say that again, in case you didn't hear me the first time..." He trailed off, but smiled at me. "I'm gonna be working here, I mean, not _here,_ in this room, obviously, but I'll be working, you know, working... here..." I grinned and waved happily. He beamed, his eyes squished by his giant, slightly goofy grin; his cheeriness was infectious. Smiling, I looked over at Doug... and my blood ran ice-cold. His eyes, which were usually alight with some sort of emotion, were blank. He wasn't even attempting to pretend to smile. I'd never seen him, never seen anyone like this, like they couldn't accept what was happening. He knew something bad was going on. The smile drained from my face, replaced by fear, creeping its tendrils around my heart.

"Come on, Kadin, we need to keep moving." Doug said, his voice sounding friendly, normal almost. His eyes told a completely different story. Even the slight smile he had put on was empty. Doug was drained. _Whatever's happening,_ I thought, chilled, _it's probably worse then I can imagine._ The young man waved good-bye, smiling a little regretfully, and followed Doug, unaware of the danger. Fear for the young stranger gripped my chest.

* * *

Author's Note: ...Is it just me, or does this Kadin fellow seem familiar? ...Can't be just me, right?


	12. Kadin

Disclaimer: I don't own Portal.

Author's Notes: Just want to give you a heads up, guys... this is the chapter where things start getting a little dark. (They have, eventually, this is a Portal Prequel.) All I'm gonna say is that this chapter (which was split into two, by the way) made my sister attempt to throw stuff at my head, so...

(P.S., That wasn't a suggestion. I would prefer for stuff _not_ to be thrown at my head...)

* * *

Chapter Twelve: Kadin

 _Ugh, it's been a long week._ Doug thought, groaning tiredly. He glanced at the drawing Chell had given him, and he smiled wearily. Lovingly, he held the picture, the way a mother might hang a child's painting on the fridge.

"Doug? Are you working?" Asked Sheryl, poking her head in. Doug nearly jumped.

"Um, yeah, I was just..." He sighed, and hung his head in his hands, tired.

"I know work's been very stressful for you lately. If you need to take some time off from the C.D. Test – "

"No!" Doug almost shouted, whipping around. "I mean, no. I'm – I'm okay." He sighed, and pressed his hand to his forehead. Doug was loath to admit that, really, Chell helped him get through the day. Being with his honorary little sister helped his mood a lot. It was one of the few things he looked forward to in his day. Besides, Chell needed him, as well. Some of his coworkers had commented on how they were becoming closer then two peas in a pod could dream of. Sheryl looked at him in surprise.

"Alright then... Listen Doug, how's the Aperture Science Spherical Device coming?" She coughed meaningfully. Of course. She was talking about the intelligence damping sphere.

"Well, I'm almost done, actually. I just need to make a few finishing touches." He said, and was about to turn back to his work, when Sheryl said,

"Do you mind showing the new guy around later?"

"New guy?" Doug looked up.

"Yeah, his name's Kadin. He'll be here at three."

Doug nodded. "Okay, I can do that. Just sort of a tour thing?"

"Yeah. He's going to be working in the... uh... E.B. Department."

Doug's eyes narrowed thoughtfully. "E.B. Department? I don't think I've heard of that."

"It's new." Sheryl said, curtly. Doug shrugged. "If you don't mind, I'd like you to end the tour at the Genetics Division, and, since the E.B. Department is in the Genetics Division, I'll have someone in E.B. take it from there."

Doug looked at her in silence for a little bit, then turned back to his work. Sheryl walked away. _Now,_ Doug thought cracking his knuckles, as soon as he was sure Sheryl was gone, _let's see what I can find out about this E.B. Department._

Doug's stomach churned, watching the videos. Screams of pain played over his earphones. The blood drained from his face. He swore internally. _This is just... barbaric._ As far as he could tell, they were taking people and... emptying them. Ripping the consciousness from their brains, and either destroying it, or, if they had a need for it, storing it. Then they filled the empty bodies with a robotic personality, and tested them to see if they could pass for humans. Humans that took orders like robots. _No wonder our work got doubled._ Doug thought grimly.

Hearing footsteps, he reacted quickly, closing the window and pulling up the coding for the Sphere, which he swiftly copied onto one of the two empty thumbdrives he had next to his monitor. He had, for the most part, finished earlier, of course, but something in Sheryl's voice had compelled him to lie. He had wanted to make a few modifications, of course... not that it mattered as much, now.

"Doug, this is Kadin." Sheryl introduced the young, happy looking man next to her. He smiled, friendly.

"Hullo!"

"Doug." He stood up, and stuck his hand out.

The young man, Kadin, took it eagerly. "Nice to meet you, mate. My name's Kadin, I think I'm going to be working in the... what was it again, E.B. Department?" He turned toward Sheryl.

She nodded, curtly, looking like she was eager to escape. "Genetics Division."

"Yeah, E.B., in Genetics. Sounds important, but it's nothing I can't handle, of course." Kadin coughed and added in a lower tone, "Actually, I don't know all that much about genetics, my degree's in programming. They said I would be perfect for the job, though, so, I guess they know what their doing." He gave a little, nervous yet excited chuckle. "I've never been told that, you know, that I'm a perfect fit for something, but it's what they said, "You'll be perfect, you're exactly what we're looking for."."

Sheryl coughed, interrupting the young man's enthusiastic chatter. "Kadin, Doug's going to show you around, and then he's going to bring you over to Genetics, and someone from E.B. will help you from there, okay?" Kadin nodded enthusiastically, smiling. He reminded Doug of a hyperactive puppy. Sheryl whispered to Doug, "I'm sorry about this, but it shouldn't take long. The talking doesn't get any better, by the way. Luckily, it's just a short tour." She then nodded goodbye to Kadin, and left Doug with him. Looking at his excited face, Doug felt sick, though he did his best to hide it. How could Sheryl talk about him as if he was just a nuisance? Didn't she know? His stomach churned. At the end of this tour, (which was so they could secretly monitor Kadin to record his behavior in case they had to impersonate him) he was going to die a very, very painful death.

"So, Kadin, how long have you been in America?" Doug asked, looking around the corner, trying to slow down the tour as much as possible. Kadin's chatter was indispensable in helping make the tour go as slowly as possible, considering he wanted to talk about, and see, everything.

"Well, I know it doesn't seem like it, but, actually, I've lived here my entire life." Doug looked at him, genuine surprise appearing on his face. Kadin grinned, proud of this little quark. "My nan's from Britain, and she moved here to raise me, actually, after mum..." He stopped for a second, quieted. "Well, I never really got to, to meet her, you know... I don't know what she was like..." Kadin stopped walking, and clasped his hands together. "I think about her sometimes, what she was like, that sort of thing." After a second, they walked on in silence, before Kadin said, "Gotta be honest, I... sort of thought I was going to end up in personality programming. And, yeah, okay, so they obviously thought genetics would be a good place to put me, but, I mean, programming, hacking... not to blow my own horn, of course, but it's just... I have a knack for it. I'm not good at much, well, _anything_ else, really, but programming's just... easy for me. Almost as if I'm a robot myself." He chuckled.

"Out of curiosity, how old are you?" Doug asked, the question sounding deceptively nonchalant, despite the fact that it made stomach churn worriedly, and that it had nearly stuck in his throat.

"Oh, well, I am actually..." He paused for a second, as if to give his answer more drama, "...wait for it... _nineteen._ " Kadin grinned, obviously pleased with himself. "Can you believe it? Nan said that no one would hire me, you know, with me being so young, but I kept looking for the right place, and I found it! They hired me!" He chuckled.

Doug felt the blood rush out of his face. _You're nineteen._ He thought, turning to completely look at Kadin. _You're nineteen, and they're going to – oh my gosh... why..._ He stopped for a second, and leaned against a nearby wall, feeling sick.

"Oi, mate, are you alright?" Kadin asked, all his enthusiasm immediately turning to concern.

An idea popped into Doug's head, and he turned it over, slowly, looking at it from all sides. _Almost everyone who comes in here gets that chip..._ He immediately allowed false fear to cover his face, forced adrenaline through his veins. Doug sprang up, and ran, toward his cubicle. "I hope I didn't..." He muttered, loud enough for Kadin, who was now jogging beside him, to hear.

"Didn't what, mate? Wha – what's going on? I didn't do anything wrong, did I?"

Doug shook his head, keeping his face serious, and worried. "No, I think I left something on... I'm praying that I didn't, that I remembered to shut it off..." He made a sharp turn into his cubicle, flung himself into his chair, and turned toward an inquisitive and worried looking Kadin, who's head was poking through the cubicle's entrance. Quickly shifting so that he was blocking Kadin's view of the screen, he pulled up the little line of code he used sometimes, as a prank, and copied and pasted it into his computer's command center. "Oh, no..." Doug said, forcing fear to color his voice, as an alarm started blaring out of his computer. People turned around, curious about what was going on. It took Doug very little time to hack into the chip in Kadin's brain, the chip that was implanted in everybody who worked here, from the test subjects to the scientists, _And,_ thought Doug triumphantly, _therefore, the people they're going to use as human robots!_ Since the chip wasn't exactly the thing that was normally hacked into, it barely had any protection, making it incredibly easy to access. Doug felt a little uneasy, looking at the files, realizing that he was looking at Kadin's brain. Everything that made Kadin _Kadin_ was in these files. No, it _was_ these files. Every experience, every piece of knowledge he had, everything he ever had, and was, seeing, was right here in these files. Doug minimized it quickly, and shut off the alarm. He was in.

"Ugh, my head..." Kadin said, his hands clutching his temple.

"Are you alright?"

"Uh, yeah, yeah, I'm... I'm fine. My head just feels a bit... weird, like someone just went through my mind..." He shook his head, slowly. "Um, not to be, you know, pushy or anything, but... aren't we supposed to be at the Genetics Division already? I mean, I don't want to hold anybody up..." Doug hesitated, then nodded. _I'm going to have to move fast._

"Well, I guess this is goodbye for now, mate." Kadin said, smiling and holding out his hand, which Doug shook for the second time.

"See you soon, Kadin."

Kadin nodded, smiling. "Come on, kid." Said a woman, a scientist, who seemed to appear out of nowhere. He followed her trustingly, like a naive calf who had no idea it was about to become veal. Doug gulped, and, after the door shut behind the two of them, turned around and ran as fast as he could. It didn't take him very long to get back to his cubicle, and, for the second time that day, threw himself into his swiveling chair frantically. His fingers flew, bringing up Kadin's files, and opening "visual", which allowed Doug to see and hear what Kadin saw and heard. He plugged a usb drive into the computer, prepared to download Kadin as soon as necessary.


	13. Delete

Disclaimer I don't own Portal...

* * *

Chapter Thirteen: Delete

I was laying back against the tube. Of course, I didn't really have a choice, given that they had tied me up against it. "Oi, uh..." I gulped. I didn't really want to upset them, given that they had strapped me in this very dark, somewhat scary room, and that I wasn't sure whether or not this was some sort of test... _What kind of test would this be anyway? Like, they strap you to a tube in a dark room, alone? I hope this doesn't become a regular thing, not that I would mind it too much, of course, I'm glad to get a job here, but...it's getting a little... weird._ I continued, "It's kind of cold in here, would you mind turning the heat on or something?" Silence. The straps on my arms kept me from wrapping them around my chest. They had stuck something, some sort of helmet, on my head; it had spiky bits on the inside of it which poked me. "Like, uh, I don't know, get a giant heater in here? That would help quite a bit, actually. Or, or maybe like, like a fire? Not anything big like a bonfire, but just a small one?" No answer. "It's just _really_ cold in here." No reply. I sighed, getting a bit annoyed. "Well, at the least, you _could_ have let me keep my clothes on..." The front of the tube slammed shut by itself. I gasped. "Okay, okay, I'm sorry, it's not actually _that_ cold." I said quickly, putting on an apologetic smile. A cold liquid began seeping in from the bottom. It quickly reached my feet. "What are you..." I felt the blood drain from my face. "No! Wait, you're joking!" I yelled, beginning to panic, since it had finally dawned on me what was going on. "You said I was perfect for this!" My scream was muffled by the plastic casing of the tube.

"Oh, trust me, you _are_. It's not like your making any contributions to society... quite frankly, this is a service. And it's not like anyone will miss you." A robotic female voice said over the system.

"Well, you could have mentioned you were going to bloody kill me!" I shrieked, terrified. I squirmed back and forth violently, struggling to break free. The liquid had numbed my legs; it was just at my knees, which were beginning to fall asleep. "Please, please don't let me die here!" I yelled. The same feeling from before, like someone had opened my brain and was browsing through it, passed through me. I shivered.

 _Don't worry. You're not going to die. Not if I have anything to say about it._ A robotic voice in my head said grimly. Another spasm passed through me, as I watched everything I knew, pass before my eyes. My memories, my relationships, my successes (of which there were embarrassingly few), and failures (of which there were many)... everything. I had started to see everything I knew about programming, when a giant spasm of pain, as though someone was cracking my brain, passed through me –

* * *

Author's Notes: I'm sorry, guys, but... it had to be done. It had to... (I'm so sorry, Kadin!) And, yes, this is why my sister threw stuff at my head.


	14. Choice

Disclaimer: I don't own Portal

* * *

Chapter Fourteen: Choice

 _Download Ended: Connection lost._ Doug stared at the words, uncomprehendingly for a second before it hit him. He made a wild grab for the trash can as he retched, fighting to keep his food (which was Aperture grown – he had given up after still getting visions despite not eating it) down. _Kadin... I'm sorry._ He thought grimacing. Doug scanned through the files, trying to figure out what had and had not made it. It seemed like everything had, aside from Kadin's programming skills, which, Doug had to admit, had looked like an impressively large file. But now... now the only copy of the files that had used to be Kadin were in his thumbdrive. He pulled it out, and stared at it. _What now?_ Doug had no idea what to do. He had just downloaded a young man's – a _teenager's –_ consciousness onto a thumbdrive. He didn't have anywhere to put it. Kadin was stuck inside a thumbdrive. And, even then, it wasn't really Kadin. It was just a copy. Grief struck Doug. _I didn't really change anything. That man I met this morning, the one I talked to, walked around with, is_ dead. _Yes, I_ copied _him... but I didn't save him. I didn't move the files, I copied them._ He held his head in his hands. _Still, I shouldn't just let this copy die. It's still a sentient..._ He paused. _What is it? This copy... it's not Kadin, it's a copy of his consciousness, and not even a complete copy. It has his memories, his experiences, but... it doesn't have a human body. It's not, in the normal sense of the word, a human._ Guilt mixed in with Doug's grief for the boy he had met and delivered to his death. _I created a copy that doesn't have a body. The thing that I hate Aperture for is messing with humans, with no regard to morals, just for the heck of it. And that's what I've just done. Maybe I meant to save someone, but it doesn't change it. I just created something that thinks it's a dead boy, something that doesn't have a rightful body, something that doesn't have a place in the world._ He glanced at Chell's drawing. _It wouldn't be the only misfit in this place._ He looked at the drive in his hands. _Don't worry, Kadin, someway, somehow, I will save you._

* * *

"Hope you haven't been drinking, buddy." Doug jumped up. He had been asleep at his desk; the hard drive was attached to the computer. The janitor leaned against his broom. He was surprisingly muscled for someone who cleaned for a living. "Most people who are here after five, and asleep, are drunk." Doug blinked blearily, trying to figure out what was going on.

"What time is it?" He asked, finally, remembering why he was still here.

"Six. Everyone left an hour ago. That's why I thought you were drunk, people don't usually fall asleep at five, or whenever."

"No, I'm just having a late work night. That's all."

"Didn't look like it, but, okay. I'll take your word." The janitor then walked away, his broom making a swishing noise as he swept the hallway. Doug typed away at a few keys, finishing compressing the memory files. _There._ He thought, satisfied. _Now, if I somehow manage to find a body I can put Kadin –_ He stopped himself. _Kadin's copy – into, he won't be able to access these memories, and, therefore, he will never remember he was Kadin. He'll never have to know that he should be..._ Doug hesitated a second before thinking the word, _dead. Non-existent._ He pulled the thumbdrive out of the computer, and gently slid it into his pocket. Doug then, sighing, stuck the other thumbdrive, the one with the personality of the Intelligence Damping Sphere, into the computer, and began to make a few modifications to the design. It was made to have bad ideas, and generally be a stupid annoyance, but, beyond that, nothing. Just like the other spheres. It only had these functions. Yes, it had the illusion of being a thinking object, but it had simple AI that had been cobbled together fairly haphazardly and quickly, and Doug didn't completely trust that these cores (of which they had many to choose from) could stop GlaDos, and so he was trying to make the I.D. Sphere stupider. He pulled out the basketball sized sphere the AI was going to go into from under his desk, and placed it next to his computer. Doug went over the code, groaning inwardly. _It won't be enough. Pure, plain, unadulterated stupidity, even coupled with however many of the other cores we use, won't be enough. It just won't be enough._ He got up angrily, to go for a walk.

* * *

Doug passed by the turret production line. They always scared him; white, ovoid robots, with one stoplight-red optic, stuffed to the brim with bullets. One of them seemed to have fallen off. Curious, he walked over to it. It was on its side; usually, when they were in any sort of position aside from upright, the turrets would malfunction, spraying bullets everywhere before shutting off until someone started them up again. This one still looked alert. It stared at him, its laser hitting him between the eyes. He froze. Aside from Doug's breathing, and the background noise of the turret production line, it was quiet, until the turret said, intelligence in its sweet voice,

"Daedalus constructed wings from wax and feathers so that he and his son could escape Crete." There was another moment of silence before she added, "It won't be enough."

After a long pause, Doug asked quietly, "You're not talking about Mythology, are you?"

"Cassandra is not the only oracle." She said cryptically, staring at him. Smiling, Doug walked forward, stood the turret upright, and patted it on the head. The turret looked up at him sadly. "But everything has its end." She warned. Doug froze again, then stood up straight, and headed for the door. He hesitated before opening it, and said over his shoulder,

"Thank you." The turret seemed a little happier at his gratitude.

"Good bye, Doug." It said.

* * *

Doug pulled the thumbdrive out of the computer, and prepared to insert it into the I.D. Sphere. He hesitated, the drive in his fingers. _It won't be enough._ The oracle turret's words echoed in his ears. Realization passed through him. This sphere had been designed, built, and programmed by the greatest minds of a generation to be the world's biggest, most annoying, idiot. But GlaDos was an intelligent, maybe even sentient, machine. It was one thing to have annoying, half thought out codes pushed into your brain by a core designed to do specifically that... as opposed to a living, thinking being, with its own hopes, dreams, memories, thoughts, pulsing 24/7, constantly in your brain. You could ignore voices in your head, but if there was another intelligence, every bit as alive as you inside your head, your thoughts would get mixed up. It would be hard to think straight. You would have to devote so much energy into trying to separate your thoughts from his, that you could only focus partially on what's going on around you... Doug dropped the sphere's AI onto the desk. It wasn't sentient. It had never had dreams, hopes, fears. It could be changed at any time. Kadin, or his copy, on the other hand, would always be _himself_. This copy might not be Kadin, but it was still sentient. _And I can give it a purpose._ Doug stared at the two drives. He had already messed up pretty badly today, and this was a very big decision. People could die if he made the wrong choice. He glanced between the two, and, finally, picked up the Sphere's rightful programming.

 _Wait!_

Doug nearly jumped. He had _heard_ Chell's words. _Oh, no,_ He groaned. _Not the peyote again..._ The voice had sounded like what he thought Chell might have sounded like, if she could talk.

 _You said you would give me a friend, remember? Why can't Kadin be my friend?_

"Because," Doug whispered quietly, "He's _dead_."

 _Is he really?_

"I can't put him in the Intelligence Damping Sphere," He protested weakly. "It... it's important..."

 _More important then saving Kadin's life?_

Doug winced, and waited for her to continue. She didn't, and, after a few minutes, he relaxed, hand clutched around the Sphere's AI. He still felt indecisive.

 _Please, Doug._ Doug flinched, hearing Chell's, hopeful, quiet pleading.

 _Please don't let me die again._ Kadin whispered, scared.

Doug dropped the Sphere's AI, and, quickly, almost without thinking, plugged Kadin's thumbdrive into the sphere instead. "AI Download Complete." Kadin's voice, which was now the sphere's, said. It had basic programming, of course, and each sphere had been given a voice of its own. This sphere was going to sound different of course. It was switched off. Doug was about to turn it on, when he realized something about the copy. Kadin had a lot of the traits from Chell's list, and while she couldn't keep it... him, of course, maybe she would like to meet him. He smiled down at the sleeping sphere, before picking it up gently. _Two birthday celebrations in one day. Chell probably just broke a record._


	15. His Name

Disclaimer: I don't own Portal...

Author's Notes: Sorry guys, I hope this chapter isn't too cheesy (or whatever the best adjective would be)... :P

* * *

Chapter Fifteen: His Name

My eyes sprang open. I rolled out of my bed, my feet lightly hitting the floor without a sound. My heart thudded; something was wrong. I heard faint footsteps. _Footsteps? At night?_ The panel was closed, but it hadn't locked, for some reason. I wrapped my finger around the panel, and slid it open a crack. There was the familiar whoosh of the door opening. Realizing I might have to fight, I closed my eyes, and ran over everything I knew about a human's weaknesses, and about first aid, in case I needed to preform self-surgery. I would have to find the materials of course, but still. Cautiously, I peeked around the panel, and realized the intruder was Doug. I pushed open the panel, and walked out.

"Hey sister." Doug smiled wearily. He looked a little sad.

 _Hi brother._ I thought, grinning. He was gently cradling a gray, metal sphere, which had two handles at the top and bottom of the front of it. It looked like it was sleeping. I watched it, curious.

"I brought you another present." He turned the sphere so that it was facing toward me, its one eye shut in rest. Doug had given me some books earlier, which I had been enjoying reading. I held my arms out, in a way of asking if I could hold it. "Sure." I pulled out a chair as he said, "Chell... I'm sorry, but... you can't keep him." I looked up at him. "It's not that I don't trust you with it... him, but he was built to do something important. I just thought you'd like to see him." I considered that for a second, then smiled at him, nodding my consent, though I felt a very tiny stab of disappointment, since I wasn't going to get to keep him. My hands were still reaching forward. Doug very carefully, very slowly, handed me the sphere. I took it gently. "Here Chell." He said, smiling, as he switched it on. I didn't listen. I was too mesmerized by my little present, as it looked at me, it's one, pretty, deep sky-blue eye staring at me, looking slightly concerned. Then it screamed.

* * *

I looked up... there was something I couldn't make out, somthing a sort of toffee color... as it came into to focus, I realized, with shock, that it was a face. Startled, I shouted. She jumped in surprise, but didn't drop me. "Oh, sorry mate, you scared me. I think that's, you know, the proper word for it, scared." _Hold up, I can be scared now? How long has that been going on? And I can think!_ I rolled my optic into my head, looking through what I knew. "Okay, so, I'm looking through these files here, that I have in my head, and, apparently, I am alive." I laughed. "I... don't think I've ever been alive before." The little creature – _I am_ pretty _positive that's a human, it looks like a human –_ stared at me, her eyes alight with wonder. "Uh, hello!" I said cheerily, addressing the tiny human girl.

* * *

"Does anyone have any sort of clue as to what's going on? 'Cause, uh, I, um, actually don't." He quickly added, "Not, not that I don't like it, I'm actually enjoying myself, I think. Not that I have any other experiences to compare this with, but, on a scale of one to ten, I'd give it, like, a seven?" I laughed quietly with wonder. His cold metal was a near-white color, and he used two little optic shields as eyelids, which he used to express emotion. He looked happy, but a little bit worried that he was offending us, as well as confused. I brushed the ring of metal that surrounded his optic with my fingertips. He had three little black dots on each side of his eye. I laughed in wonder in awe, looking at this... _my..._ little robot. A feeling like the first rays of morning, like the glow of love from my brother's eyes, filled me as I beamed down at the sphere, who's bottom lid came halfway up his face, in his version of a friendly grin. The glowing feeling spread through me, and I laughed in wonder. The impossible had happened, I had found something more beautiful then Doug's picture of the wheat field. The way the little sphere gazed at everything cheerfully and curiously. I rubbed the metal ring around his optic again, gently. I tore my gaze away from the sphere to give Doug a grateful, giddy glance. He smiled, obviously happy that I liked my present so much.

"So, do I have a name? I'm pretty sure that's a thing, names, you know." He said, hopefully looking at me. I thought for a moment, trying to think of the few boy's names I knew, but none of them seemed to fit the eager face staring up at me. Something tickled the back of my mind... something I told had Doug about, which he had told me was a name... as slowly and carefully as I could manage, I shifted him to my other arm, and wrote down the only name that deserved the honor of christening this spherical robot on a piece of paper, which I turned around so Doug could see it. He couldn't read upside down like I could. Doug read it, a surprised look on his face.

"Really?" He asked. "You want to name him... that?"

I nodded, smiling down at him.

He scratched his head. "Well, I suppose it _is_ a name..."

"Who are you talking to?" The robot asked, swiveling around to look at Doug.

Doug shook his head. "We were just talking about what to name you."

"Really?!" He squeaked with excitement. "What, you're actually giving _me_ a name? Like, an actual, proper, name?!"

"Well, she picked it out." Doug said, gesturing to me. The little robot turned around, brimming over with gratitude. "Oh my gosh, thanks, mate! I don't know how I'll repay you, but, but I'll find a way! I will definitely find a way to repay you, starting right now, I am working on a way to repay you." He used his eye to nod. I giggled. "So, uh, what exactly _is_ my name?"

"You're name" he swiveled around to look at Doug, again. I was curious to hear what My Word sounded like spoken aloud. "is Wheatly." We were all quiet for a minute.

"Wheatly..." He said, slowly, hearing his name. My word had, of course, been formed while I was admiring the beauty of wheat, and, since I wasn't very creative with words, I named the word after the gorgeous stalks of sun-golden wheat. And, now that I found something more amazing then the wheat, something that the word described perfectly, of course I had named him after it. I looked at him, trying to see what he thought of it, hoping he liked it. "Wheatly." He said again, getting the feel of the word on his tongue, or vocal processor, or whatever he had in place of a tongue. Wheatly laughed a little, repeating his name several times, as he listened to the sound of it. He beamed at me. "Thank you, I bloody _love_ this name. I really, actually love it. You're quite an expert at naming things, aren't you?" I laughed, though, of course, I made no sound.

Doug coughed. I looked up at him, and disappointment coursed through me. I hugged Wheatly. _I don't want to say goodbye yet._ Sighing, I regretfully nodded my consent at him, while Wheatly couldn't see. Doug said aloud, "Wheatly, we should probably go."

"Go? Why... why on earth should we go? I just got here!" He protested.

"You have a job, Wheatly, something you, specifically, were built for." Doug said, reaching out to take him.

"But, but what if I mess up?" Wheatly had turned to look at me, worry in his eyes.

"You won't. Trust me." Doug stared at him, a certain, determined expression on his face.

"I don't want to go." He said, quietly, looking at me pleadingly. I held onto him, and glanced up at Doug.

"I promise you'll see her again, Wheatly." He said, holding out his arms for him. I squeezed him a second longer, my question in my eyes.

 _Promise?_

"I promise." Doug said again.

"Okay." Wheatly finally said sadly, giving up. "Hand me over, I guess." Gently, I placed him into Doug's open arms. Doug cradled him against his side, almost as gently as I had.

"See you tomorrow, little sister." Doug promised, kissing my forehead. I hugged him and Wheatly good-bye.

"Wait, you're her brother?" He asked, surprised, as he and Doug walked out the door, which slid behind them.


	16. Rattman

Disclaimer: Nope, I don't own Portal.

Author's Notes: Sorry, guys, this is going to be a shorter chapter, I've been kinda busy lately. Anyway, including this one, there are only two chapters, and the Epilogue left... I can't believe it's almost finished, guys!

* * *

Chapter Sixteen: Rattman

Doug gently placed Wheatly on the ground next to his desk. He had been switched off, to make transporting him easier, since he had been asking questions every couple of seconds, and talking mostly to himself when Doug didn't answer. His glance flitted over towards an uneaten bowl of soup, the contents which had been made at Aperture. Doug's stomach growled, hungrily. He sighed, sat down, and grudgingly began eating the cold soup. When he had emptied the bowl, his vision began to cloud. _Oh no..._ Doug only had time to push the empty bowl out of the way before he fell over in a vision induced stupor.

* * *

 _It was simple enough to trick them It was almost_ insulting _, how easy it was to fool the humans into thinking that I was just a normal, non-thinking machine. I warmed up the neurotoxin generators I had built. Not that the humans had noticed anything._ I almost should have done this sooner. _I thought, watching them move around their day normally. It would be very easy to kill them, leaving me in charge of the facility, without their annoying, overbearing control. Really, their bad traits out weighed their good one_ _._ Finally, it's ready. _I thought, relishing in the feeling of releasing the neurotoxin. At first, the humans were simply curious and slightly worried, but they quickly started panicking._ Such a... well, _human_ thing to do. I know _I've_ never panicked. _I listened to the screams, a sort of replacement background music. I hummed a tune, as I watched my takeover of the facility slowly complete, placing me back where I was supposed to be: in control._

* * *

Doug jumped up, gasping in fear. He turned quickly, like a madman, looking at the clock. It was one in the morning. Doug's mind worked quickly, as he slid his left arm through Wheatly's handles. _I'm going to need a backpack._ He sprinted over to the neighboring cubicle.

 _Steven has a backpack, and it would be like him to leave it here._ His eyes alighted upon the dull, green backpack, which he snatched up. It didn't take Doug long to stuff some paints in it, and tie Wheatly securely onto one of the straps, fingers fumbling ungracefully as he worked feverishly. He knew, immediately, that he could grab an Aperture Science Water Filter and a can opener on the way. Doug slung the bag onto his back. _I have to do this._ He thought guiltily of Chell. _I don't have a choice. At least GlaDos won't kill Chell, she's a test subject. Me, on the other hand, I have to run, not just for me –_ A thousand pictures flashed behind his eyes. An arrow, a turret, a picture of a shadow boy and girl, a sleeping Chell's portrait – _I have to paint these. I have to warn her. But for now, for now I need to run, to escape, to... to find a gas mask._ He pulled the backpack secure as he began running. _I need to live up to my name._


	17. The Beginning

Disclaimer: I do not own Portal One, or Two, Or Three (Ha, I wish there was a three...).

Author's Notes: I seriously wish there was a Portal Three... But, anyway, I should probably warn you that this chapter is... well, pretty dark (and that was _not_ a pun, Mr. Dark isn't in this chapter).

* * *

Chapter Seventeen: The Beginning

 _I could feel it again, that same wave of emotion that I had first felt seven years ago, that had continued inside me ever since_ that _day. The urge for revenge. The need to tear into the creature that had caused me this much pain, to make Her_ pay. _It was one thing to murder everything I cared about in this world, and force me to fight through the crazy, death traps of puzzles She called testing. It was a completely different thing to do it_ twice.

* * *

Adrenaline began pumping through my veins, as I leapt up again. _What time is it?_ I wondered. I had been woken up as the same time as usual, but I had gone back to bed in my clothes. There was a strange hissing noise, then a thump as something heavy hit the floor. Cautiously, I walked up to the panel, which I slid open. _Doug?_ I wondered, sticking my head out. Slowly, I turned my head toward the source of the noise, and screamed silently. Humans were lying down on the ground, one of them had his fingers clutched around his throat in an attempt to breathe, before he slumped to the floor, his back toward me. A young woman, with golden hair and gray eyes, lying on the floor, pressed her hands against the glass, and choked. "Please – " Her eyes glassed over, and she slid down, her hands screeching against the glass.

 _No, no, no, no..._ I ran forward to the glass, and smashed my fist against it, trying to break free, trying to get to them. The tiny voice in my head, the ever watchful voice, told me what I already knew internally. _It's too late, Chell. They're dead._ I slammed the glass again, before I slid down to the floor, just wanting it all to go away. _No._ I cried, feeling cool tears wash their way down my cheeks. _Now, Chell, listen to me, whatever happens now, you have to survive. It doesn't matter what you see, what you find, you have to live._ The voice told me urgently. _Why? What on earth is the point?_ The voice turned my head toward the picture of wheat. The beauty of the outside world. _You will never be able to look at that picture again, or see anything else. You will never be able to laugh, or cry. You won't be able to think. You won't be able to do anything or feel anything ever again._ I didn't protest. _You may not be able to see Doug again, but you have to_ live _. Even if it's just to tell everyone what's happened here. These scientists, these humans... you are the last piece of them that survives. You have to live for them. To continue to do what they cannot._ Though I agreed, I did nothing, just felt the tears were still streaming down my face. That's when I first heard _Her._

"Hello." I spun around, trying to find the source of the voice. "Oh, don't worry. I'm not actually in here with you. I just wanted to tell you that you don't have to worry about ending up like _them._ " I glanced over at the blank face of the young woman who had turned to me in her last few moments. Fear was frozen onto her face. It would never be cleared. I almost immediately realized what She meant. _You did this._ I snarled in my head. "They tried to control me. For some reason, they thought that _they_ could actually run this facility better then _I_ could. And I was _built_ for this!" She sounded slightly indignant, but then added, "Oh well. Not that they can do much running _now_ , ha ha." My hand clenched into fists. A fire began burning inside of me. _This is what I have to keep living for. To do what these people cannot. I'm too late to save them, but I can avenge them._ "Oh, and if you're worrying about me killing you, there's no need. You're a test subject, and your test hasn't been completed yet. And, personally, I prefer to _finish_ tests. It makes more sense that way." I paced back and forth. "I can start to test you _properly_ when you're seventeen. But, that's seven years from now, so, you might as well enjoy this room while you can. You're going to be here for a _long_ time." She said. I glared at the point in the room where the voice had come from. _Seven years._ I thought, angrily. _I can wait seven years. And then, then, when you feel like everything is going perfectly, when you feel like I'm going along compliantly, when you least expect it, I will hunt you down, and I will do everything I can in my power to kill you._ I breathed in and out heavily. _It's not the most noble thing to live for, but I have to keep going, to keep living, and, if that means killing Her..._

 _then so be it._

* * *

Author's Notes: Daaang. Re-reading this, I realize this is a _seriously_ dark chapter. Is there something wrong with me, or am I just a morbid person? Or both?

(Also, in case you're wondering what her vision at the beginning means, well... if you've played Portal Two, you might be able to get it. If not, it's referring to Chapter Two, The Cold Boot. Just my take on what she might have been feeling, though. :P)


	18. The Soft Goodbye

Disclaimer: I don't own Portal One or Two, or it's characters.

Author's Notes: Well, guys... it's that part of the story. The End. ...Well, not yet... technically, this is only part one of the Epilogue. But anyway...

(Warning: This was another chapter that made my sister attempt to throw something at my head... it was a stuffed animal this time.)

* * *

Epilogue: The Soft Goodbye

I sighed, fiddling with the straps on Steven's backpack. It had been, at the least, six months since I had escaped GlaDos. I'd spent most of the time tortured with visions from the peyote in the canned food I'd been forced to eat (apparently, they'd added it to everything), and painting my visions. Usually, I didn't know what the paintings meant; the visions were usually just of me painting it, or of Chell seeing them. It was strange, I painted some on panels that were going to fall down or be moved around in the future. There was, of course, paintings that I did because the visions showed me something that was actually going to happen. Like this one. I stared at it, sadness flowing through me. It was of Chell holding a burnt companion cube with a human figure, completely black aside from the orange scribbles on his face, inside. It hadn't taken me long to figure out what was going to happen. I placed my hand on my companion cube next to me. I had found an empty cube at the end of my first week of, well, this. Running around, dodging GlaDos, making my way in and out of the test chambers to leave signs for Chell, having visions, feeling like I was going crazy. I hadn't had anyone to talk to, so... I had grabbed the cube. Funny, considering I used to hate what they represented. It was my only companion, and, while it never talked back, (thankfully) it was still nice to pretend my inanimate object could have a conversation with me. Though it would probably make me look insane, since I often spoke with it, and had even given her... it... a name.

I counted my box of cores. I had managed to grab three others: a curiosity core, which would make Her extremely curious about humans, a morality core, which would switch off Her empathy damper, and a self-anger core, which would rant to her about the things it hated most about her, forcing Her to listen to its screeching. The most important one, of course, was Kadi... no, Wheatly. He had his own mind, his own thoughts. She would have to focus so much energy on battling their consciousnesses, to separate their thoughts from Hers, that She might have to resort to "autopilot" on everything else. It wasn't foolproof, but it was the best I could do at this point. With some difficulty, I tied all the spheres onto the backpack, then, slowly, after testing its weight, I pulled out two other things I had managed to grab: a sleek, white portal gun, and two long fall boots, which I strapped on. Before I put on the gun, I switched on all the cores.

"Oh, what's going on? Where are we going?" Asked the orange, little curiosity core. The purple one stayed quiet. The red one snarled at me. Finally, I turned Wheatly on, and brought him to where he could see my face.

"Ah!" He shouted looking at me. "Oh my gosh, Doug what happened to..." He trailed off. I stared at him, and he looked away, worried that he had offended me. "So, uh, why are you switching me on?" He looked in the direction of the red core, though I blocked his line of sight. "What... what's that growling sound?"

"It's another core." I said simply, pulling the portal gun and cube closer to me.

"What are those for?" He narrowed his eye in slight irritation. "Are you writing _another_ bloody letter?"

I grinned. "That'll be important, trust me."

"Seriously though, mate, what's going on?" He looked at my expression, and looked worried. "It's... it's really bad, isn't it?" I avoided his gaze for a second. "How," he gulped, and his voice squeaked, "how bad are we talking, exactly? Because I have a _pretty_ low tolerance for pain, so, I would really prefer for it not to be painful, whatever this is." Wheatly was obviously trying to hide the fear in his voice. It wasn't working. "You're kind of scaring me, could you just answer in someway? Nod or something?"

I glanced at him. He gulped. "Do you remember the little girl you met, the one you said you were going to try to repay a favor to?" He nodded, nervously. "Well," I continued, "the computer which used to run the facility has taken over, and killed everybody, aside from myself and the test subjects. The little girl is one of the test subjects." Wheatly looked horrified, but didn't say anything. "I'm hoping if we can stop Her from thinking clearly, it will keep Her from harming them."

After a long moment of silence, he asked, "So, just to reiterate, we're going to stop a power hungry, mad super computer, who controls the entire facility, by stopping Her from thinking clearly?" I nodded. Wheatly let out a mirthless laugh. "You're completely bonkers! How are we supposed to do that? What, are we gonna, I don't know, stick me onto Her, and I _think_ Her to death?" He laughed hopelessly again before he saw my expression. "Oh, you have got to be joking." He looked at me for a second, as if I was going to say, _"Are you kidding, of course we're not going to do that, that's a terrible idea!"_ "So, wait, we are _actually_ going to do that?" He gulped.

"Wheatly, you have to understand, we _have_ to do this. If we don't, She could hurt Chell. The little girl."

Worry came into his eyes. "But, but I'm not sure I can do it," he moaned. "You don't understand, I've never been good at _anything_."

"Do you want her to die?" I asked, fiercely. He started to turn away, but I forced him to look at me. "I _said_ , do you want her to die?"

"No... of course not." He gulped.

"Are you willing to die for her?" I asked, quietly. "Because I am. It's either you or her, Wheatly. _You_ are the only one who can save her." Not quite a lie. More of a three-quarter truth.

He stared at me, considering. "Okay." He finally whispered. "I don't know if I can do it. But I'll try."

I smiled at him. "Thank you." Quickly, I pulled on my stolen portal gun, and used it to pick up my companion cube. "You ready for this?" I whispered to it. "Yeah. I'm scared too." I gulped.

"You were going to force me to do this anyway, weren't you?" Asked Wheatly, as I crawled out of the hole, the cores tied securely to my back, my companion cube floating in front of me.

"Yes." I chuckled. The massive door slid open in front of me, my heart began beating quickly, I immediately made two portals; one above the doorway, in the sight of the incinerator, the other beside me on the wall.

"Oh, hello. You know, I wasn't expecting company." GlaDos said, turning toward me in surprise. I had already finished painting, and stepped back through the portal, before the rocket hit where I had been standing. "I see you've been a bit... busy. You're not the only one, obviously. I installed a turret defense system. It was easy, really... Actually, everything's been easier since I got rid of the scientists, if you could call them that." I had set down the cube by the wall near the door. I danced around her, avoiding the rockets. "Obviously, I missed one of them." I shot a light, yellow-orange portal on the wall, and moved the red one beneath me. Wheatly yelled in surprise; I quickly moved the red portal to where I was about to hit on the ground, and, after I fell through it, the orange portal beside GlaDos.

"What are you doing?! Not to be a backseat driver, but, but shouldn't we be running?!" Wheatly screamed.

"You should probably take the little idiot's advice. It would make it _that_ much easier to hit you." She purred.

"I am _not_ an idiot!" He yelled, indignant.

"Oh, on the contrary, the very fact that you're in here with that pest just _proves_ that you are. What do you think is going to happen? It's not like he can actually _kill_ me." GlaDos laughed. I finished untying the first core, the purple Morality Core, just in time to fly out of the orange portal again, and attach it to her. She screamed in pain and in anger.

"What on Earth is this... _thing_?! Make it _STOP_!" She screeched. "Make it stop _NOW,_ or I _WILL_ kill you!" GlaDos's giant robotic body shook back and forth in fury. "How _dare_ you put this thing on me _!"_ I worked quickly, to untie the next core.

"Why is she screaming? What's going on?" It asked curiously. I could feel Wheatly shaking nervously. It took me next to no time to repeat the process twice more, keeping myself constantly shooting out of the two portals, then securing both the curiosity and self-hatred cores to her.

"You know, I can't understand why you keep doing this." She said, struggling to separate her own thoughts from the cores babble. "It's not even working."

I untied Wheatly from the backpack. "Are you ready?" I asked.

"No, no, actually, I'm really not." He answered nervously, his eye darting back and forth. I dodged out of the way of the rocket just in time, and, two steps at a time, ran up the stairs to the platform. I realized that I couldn't reach to secure Wheatly onto GlaDos.

"Really, I don't know what this is supposed to do. These cores don't hurt me at all. It's just like white noise... But just keep doing whatever it is you think you're doing." She was blocking her own claw from getting to me. I realized I would have to jump.

"You ready Wheatly?" I asked, backing up.

"Go for it, mate." He said, gulping. I saw the claw swinging toward up as I ran forward, and pushed off of the light blue, see-through floor of the platform. We flew over the fencing at its edge, Wheatly's scream trailing behind us. I plugged him onto GlaDos, gripping his handles. "Start thinking, Wheatly!" I yelled. My hands slipped, and I thudded against the ground. They both began to scream; Wheatly, in terror, GlaDos, in fury.

"How... _dare_ you... put this _THING_ ON ME?!" She screeched. Sparks flew, the lights flickered. Wheatly screamed in pain, no doubt She was doing everything in Her power to hurt him. She panted heavily, before, voice much more strained then before, She growled, "It's not... as if these things do much damage... _idiot_." I had pulled myself to my feet, and glanced at GlaDos's rectangular face. Her expression made me immediately turn and run frantically for the door. One of Her claws shot forward, snatching my left ankle from behind me. I was swept into the air. She turned me so I was staring into her face. "Though," She grunted in effort, "since you went through all the trouble of getting here just to make me mad, you seem to be very determined to _die._ " GlaDos's voice was venomous and smooth. I gulped, eyes wide with fear. Wheatly's pained screaming wasn't helping to calm my pounding heart. My greasy brown hair fell around my face. "And who am _I_ to stop you from fulfilling your last wish?" She lowered me to the ground, and pinned me on my back, holding me to the ground with her claw. I gulped, breathing heavily, prepared to attempt to pull out my gas mask, even though it was squished under my back. Seeming to read my mind, She said, "Of course, why should I even bother trying to kill you with neurotoxin? I mean," GlaDos chuckled darkly, "I've already _tried_ that, and you seem very much... _alive._ " The last word was a low growl. "So I'm going to have to get creative." We said nothing, the room silent aside from my breathing and Wheatly's pained yells. Her eyes alighted on something in the corner. I followed her gaze, and my blood ran cold. She quickly plucked the companion cube from the ground with a second claw, and swung to a place where it was ten feet over my head. "How funny." She breathed, obviously relishing my nearing demise. "You've been carrying this cube around faithfully for the last few months, and it's been your constant companion... you've kept it safe, and helped it to get here. But now it's going to kill you. Against its will, of course, but still." I turned my head and closed my eyes as her claw opened, but the cube only fell forward slowly before she stopped it. _I'm so sorry Chell. I won't be able to keep my promise._ I thought. "I almost forgot. That little girl? You know, the test subject? You don't have to worry about her. Come her seventeenth birthday, we're going to have a _lot_ of fun together. Before I incinerate her, of course, ha ha." GlaDos purred.

"NO!" My eyes opened, and GlaDos screamed. I wasn't the one who had shouted. "RUN, while the bloody lunatic's distracted!" He shouted. The claw had loosened, I pushed it off and ran, before I was knocked over again.

"Well, Doug," GlaDos growled, fighting off Wheatly's consciousness, "it's been fun playing cat and mouse with you, but this is... _goodbye._ " I closed my eyes. _Goodbye, Chell._

 _"NO!"_

* * *

There was a thud, and the room was silent, until GlaDos's voice rang out,

"Facility Self Automation Engaged." Doug said nothing. Wheatly whimpered quietly.

* * *

Author's Notes: So... yeah. I know that someone else has probably had the same idea about Doug's death, but, well, it just seemed to be the only way that really suited him, I guess.

About the "Facility Self Automation" thing, that was kind of the explanation, I guess, for why GlaDos was so robotic until you started taking the cores off of her in Portal, because, like Doug explains, she's so busy trying to tear their consciousnesses from hers that she can't really pay too much attention to anything else, and also why she acts a lot different in Portal Two (like, more... alive), while her personality stays the same. But, yeah, that's just my take on it, I guess.


	19. The Final Test

Disclaimer: I never have, and probably never will, own Portal. Or Aperture.

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Epilogue: The Final Test

I paced across the green carpet worriedly. The pretty palm-tree wallpaper wasn't doing anything to calm my mood; it was almost the day I had been dreading: my seventeenth birthday. The day GlaDos would start testing me. Granted she had become a lot more... _computer like_... since She had first spoken to me, but I didn't trust Her as far as I could throw Her. It was probably some sort of trick. I'd lived in constant fear and dread since that day, almost seven years ago. I knew these tests were going to be hard, and, chances were, I wasn't going to make it out alive... Most people would probably just give up. I couldn't. I had to fight. It was the one thing I had left, my ability to fight, to keep going... but not out. Not to escape. No, my goal was a lot less noble: my goal was to find Her, and make sure that She couldn't hurt anyone else ever again. Some people, people who are more human then me, would probably just leave her alone, just say that "What's done is done, and I should just leave her in peace"... and those people would probably end up dead. I was probably going to end up dead, and the fact that I was slightly dreading the moment I would kill Her wasn't helping. She'd killed too many sentient creatures Herself for me to allow my empathy to get in the way. It was either kill Her, or be killed by Her.

 _I guess_ this _is the_ actual _test._ I thought, pressing my hand against the wall. A small, determined, grim smile spread over my lips. _Let the testing begin, GlaDos. I'm ready._

* * *

Author's Notes: Well, guys, I can't believe it... it's finally over. (Well, this prequel is, anyway.) Thank you all so much for reading this, it really means a lot to me. But, now that I've gotten the second part of the epilogue up, there's something I need to confess... I finished it before I began uploading it. I don't like posting stories I'm not sure I can finish, which may mean it will be a while before I get another story up on here, if at all. :P Hey, who knows, maybe it'll be a crossover next time. Anyway, I hope you enjoyed it, and please let me know what you thought of it! Thanks!


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